Skein holder



Nov. 2, 1965 J. GEORGE 3,215,364

sxEIN HOLDER Filed June 12, 1963 n INV-ENTOR. tzmze @e0 229 i Wom/M United States Patent 3,215,364 SKEIN HOLDER Jimmie George, 614 S. 7th St., Maywood, Ill. Filed June 12, 1963, Ser. No. 287,231 3 Claims. (Cl. 242-127) This invention relates in general to a holder for yarn or cotton thread which is wound therefrom into a voluminous ball, and an important object of the invention is to provide a device of this kind which is intended to take the place of another person, to substitute the holding arms of the device for the hands of another person, -so that anyone who has a skein of thread, either cotton or woolen, may engage the hanks of the skein with the arms and wind the thread upon a ball without requiring the presence or assistance of another person in changing the thread from skein to ball shape.

Other objects of the invention are to provide an adhesive adjustable support which may be attached to glass, a table or any other smooth surface; to loosely swivel the holder so that the yarn may be more easily withdrawn therefrom and wound into a ball; to adjust the outer arms in parallel shape for packing and storage, and to spread the arms for engaging and holding skeins of various lengths; to provide outwardly open hook-s for easily engaging and holding skeins; yto clamp the arms tightly even though the support for mounting the arms is somewhat loose and lfreely rotatable; to provide a compactly foldable holder to occupy a minimum space while it is folded but is easily attached to various supports and variously extensible to receive skeins of different lengths; and in general to provide a device of this kind which is easily made and eicient in operation.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereafter, and will be more apparent from the accompanying drawing in which,

FIG. 1 is a forwardly inclined perspective illustrating this invention as supported with a skein of yarn therein partially wound in-to a ball;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the holder alone with the arms arranged in parallel with each other occupying the least space;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing the ends of the arms omitted and all of the parts in their relative positions; and

FIG. 4 is a partial plan View as taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3 showing the center mounting of one of the holder arms.

This invention relates to a portable skein holder for yarns of various kinds by means of which a person who is winding the yarn into the form of a ball may dispense entirely with the services of another person in holding the yarn upon his hands from which the ball is wound. It may not always be convenient to use a second person in holding a skein of yarn, and to place the vskein of yarn upon some other holder such as the back of a chair, or other supports simply makes it more easy for the yarn in its skein form to become tangled or matted, and to prevent -the proper, simple and easy unwinding of the yarn into the ball form as shown in the present application. Referring now more particularly to the drawing, a flexible vacuum cup is shown with an opposite solid projection 12 forming a part of the back thereof. Molded in this projection 12 and projecting rearwardly from it is a screw 14 to which a threaded nut 16 is applied and screwed tightly against the projection 12. Freely mounted on the threaded portion of screw 14 is a grommet 18 having a sleeve portion 20 which extends along the screw and forms a mounting for a swivel member 22.

This swivel member 22 has a general form of a 3,215,364 Patented Nov. -2, 1965 U-shaped member with parallel ends 24 and 32 about one-third of the length of the member 22 in each of which ends is a hole 26 or 34. At the lower end this hole 26 is suciently large to t upon the sleeve 20 of the grommet and the sleeve is just slightly longer than the thickness of the end 24 so that it abuts a washer 28 leaving this end of the swivel member to turn -freely upon the sleeve portion of the grommet and thus to allow a free movement of the member about the lower or adhesive support. This washer 28 lits more or less tightly upon the screw 14 and a locking nut 30 is threaded upon the end of the screw binding the washer 28 against the grommet 18 with the end of the swivel member 22 mounted upon the grommet sleeve portion for free movement vthereon because of the loose engagement of the hole 26 with the sleeve 20.

At the other end of the U-shaped member 22 is the other parallel end 32 with an opening 34 into which a screw 36 extends freely and does not have any threads in the member. On -top of the member and engaging with the screw which is inserted through it is a nut 38 which is fastened tightly against the upper or outer side of this end of the member 22.

The upper end of -the screw 36 extends beyond the fastening nut 38 and provides a sufficient space for the reception of two similar arms 40. Each arm has a central at or reversely bent portion 42 which provides a substantially circular central opening 44 adapted to embrace and -to be inserted upon the upper or threaded end of the screw 36, leaving a portion of the threaded end of the lscrew projecting therefrom. Through this projecting end of the lscrew is applied a thumb screw 46 by which the two arms are clamped securely in any adjusted position. The two arms are formed with a centrally perforated or diversely bent portion which is placed atly against the other arm and the two arms are conned tightly together and in any angular position as shown. If the two reversely bent portions 42 are placed oppositely, then these two arms may be placed one above the other and arranged in parallel location with respect to each other as shown in FIGURE 2. This is the position in which the distance from the ends of the arms is the shortest. When the arms are spread apart in angular relation as shown in FIGURE 1, a larger distance will be included within the periphery of the ends of the arms.

Each arm is formed at both ends with a reversely bent and outwardly open hook in which a loose skein of yarn is engaged. Within these hooks is placed a skein 50 of yarn, and the angular position of the two arms is changed to include the skein of yarn therein and to hold it by means of said hooks the thumb screw 46 being rst loosened to insert the hooks 48 and their arms 40 within a skein of material and then angularly moving the arms apart with the hooks engaging the skein and tightening the iirst Iscrew upon its screw 36 to hold the arms and 'hooks 48 thereof tightly in place with the skein thus distended by the hooks.

In this condition the skein is in position to be unwound and the end of the skein may be formed into a wound ball 52 of yarn, in the ordinary lmanner. This requires only the operations of one person who does the winding and does not include the necessity of any other person for holding the skein or yarn in his hands as ordinarily might be required.

While I have thus described this invention in some detail, it should be regarded by way of illustration and example rather than as a restriction or limitation thereof, as changes in the construction, combination and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A portable skein holder, comprising a supporting vacuum cup base with an upward threaded projection, a member having one end freely rotatable on but secured to the projection and extending outwardly therefrom, a pair of wire arms each with outwardly opening end projections and a central reversely bent rotary mounting, and separate clamping means comprising a headed screw extending through the other end of said member and through the central rotary mounting of both of the two arms, and a thumb screw threaded on the end of the said headed screw and engaging the central mountings of the arms on said screw to bind them closely together in parallel position and in angular position spacing the ends apart to engage skeins of different lengths and hold them distended on said end projections.

2. A skein holder in accordance with claim 1 in which the said member is U-shaped and has substantially parallel ends with holes through them which said projection from the base engages at one end for mounting it for free movement with respect to said base, and said screw 4 I extending through the other end to which the said wire arms are tightly connected by the thumb screw at various angles with said outwardly opening end projections in the form of hooks in which skeins of different lengths are seated.

3. A skein holder in accordance with claim 2 having an adherent vacuum base with a threaded projection therefrom, washers on the projection at both sides of one perforated end of said U-shaped member, means clamping the washers in place to allow free rotation of said member, the threaded screw extending through the other end and having a nut thereon for securing it rmly to said end and said arms being separately adjusted on said screw by the thumb screw.

References Cited by the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS 621,076 4/49 Great Britain.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner. 

1. A PORTABLE SKEIN HOLDER, COMPRISING A SUPPORTING VACUUM CUP BASE WITH AN UPWARD THREADED PROJECTION, A MEMBER HAVING ONE END FREELY ROTATABLE OIN BUT SECURED TO THE PROJECTION AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY THEREFROM, A PAIR OF WIRE ARMS EACH WITH OUTWARDLY OPENING END PROJECTIONS AND A CENTRALLY REVERSELY BENT ROTARY MOUNTING, AND SEPARATE CLAMPING MEANS COMPRISING A HEADED SCREW EXTENDING THROUGH THE OTHER END OF SAID MEMBER AND THROUGH THE CENTRAL ROTARY MOUNTING OF BOTH OF THE TWO ARMS, AND A THUMB SCREW THREADED ON THE END OF THE SAID HEADED SCREW AND ENGAGING THE CENTRAL MOUNTINGS OF THE ARMS ON SAID SCREW TO BIND THEM CLOSELY TOGETHER IN PARALLEL POSITION AND IN ANGULAR POSITION SPACING THE ENDS APART TO ENGAGE SKEINS OF DIFFERENT LENGTHS AND HOLD THEM DISTENDED ON SAID END PROJECTIONS. 